1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an endoscope with hygiene protection, which includes a cover, which is closed at the distal end thereof and which is transmissible for optical information at least on its front side, and which can be rolled on in the manner of a condom in the axial direction of the endoscope and which has one or more working channels which extend parallel to the endoscope and terminate in an open manner at the distal end of the cover. The invention further relates to a method for applying an elastic endoscope protection intended for one-off use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Endoscopy is a diagnostic method for examining body cavities and ducts and hollow organs by direct observation by means of an endoscope. New designs of endoscopes consist of a flexible tube, in the interior of which glass fibre bundles run. The optical information from the body interior is transmitted through the glass fibres. Other endoscopes have a CCD image-converter chip, which acts as a miniaturised TV camera and makes possible output on a monitor. By means of endoscopy, tissue portions can be removed for biopsy by means of introducible forceps, loops, irrigators and suction apparatus, and relatively small operations carried out.
Since endoscopes are very expensive items of equipment, it is necessary to use them as frequently as possible to achieve a payback. To avoid contamination, unprotected endoscopes are dismantled after each use and thoroughly cleaned. The cleaning procedure includes the intensive mechanical cleansing, e.g. by brushes and the use of an ultrasonic bath. The channels extending in the interior of the endoscope are flushed after immersion in a disinfection solution by means of a pump. The entire procedure is highly time and labour intensive. In addition, the endoscope cannot be used for the period of the cleaning, so that, with an avoidable capital tie-up, additional endoscopes must be purchased to provide for the patients.
To avoid these difficulties, various disposable endoscope covers have already been proposed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,326; U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,908; U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,001; and Federal Republic of Germany patent specification DE 199 18 488. Despite the evident large demand for endoscope protection covers, interestingly none of these covers has so far become established on the market.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,001 discloses various embodiments of an endoscope protection cover: In one of the embodiments, the cover consists of a rigid material, which, for attachment of the cover, must be pushed for its entire length over the distal tip of the endoscope. To facilitate this operation, the interior diameter of the cover is dimensioned to be bigger than the outer diameter of the endoscope. After the distal end of the endoscope lies against the distal end of the cover, that part of the cover that does not bear against the outside of the endoscope is folded back, closures being provided in the longitudinal direction, and based on the zip-lock principle, in order to fix the folded-back sleeve in the longitudinal direction. The disadvantage of this embodiment, apart from the complicated attachment of this cover, is its rigidity and the higher manufacturing costs needed for attaching the closures running in the longitudinal direction. In a further development of this endoscope protection, the cover does not have a zip lock-like closure but an airtight balloon-like cover, which lies against the inside of the cover. This balloon-like sleeve to which air can be applied, provides that the endoscope protection bears firmly against the shaft of the endoscope. The major disadvantage of this embodiment consists in the volume increase of the endoscope, since, in the interest of the patient, any volume increase of the endoscope must be avoided, since the introduction of an endoscope with a large diameter can be very painful. The somewhat rigid cover of the two aforementioned embodiments comprises tubes which run in the wall of the cover parallel to the endoscope shaft and serve as working channels.
In an alternative embodiment, U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,001, discloses an endoscope protection which can be rolled on in the manner of a condom, which, at the distal end, just like to the two first-mentioned embodiments from that document, comprise a transmissible window. Additional working channels are not provided in the endoscope protection, which can be rolled on in the manner of a condom. Its use is therefore restricted in a disadvantageous manner to optical control, and precludes the taking of biopsies.